Beginnings
by voldiesgonemoldy
Summary: After Severus begs Lily to forgive him she comes back into the Common Room only to find Potter doing something very unexpected. Apologizing


" Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"

You call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why  should I be any different?" Lily watched him struggle  to find words to back up his unforgivable actions for  a moment before she turned and stormed back into the  common room. It was completely empty, save a boy with  messy black hair. She sighed.

  "What do you want, Potter?" Lily was exasperated  enough without having to listen to him.

  "I wanted to apologize."

  The comment stopped her in her dead in her tracks. Never had  she heard James Potter apologize for anything. He  continued, ignoring the look of surprise etched across  Lily's face.

"I shouldn't have done that to Snape. If I hadn't, he  would never have said that to you. I didn't mean for  you to get hurt." Lily realized quite suddenly that he  was right: It was his fault that she'd lost her best  friend today! She opened her mouth to yell at him, but  before she could say anything, Sev's voice floated  through her mind.   

"_I don't need help from a Mudblood like her."_ The  enormity of what had happened that day washed over  her. It wasn't James' fault. Severus would have called  her Mudblood eventually. She was only kidding herself  that she was any different from all the others in his  eyes. He had betrayed her trust in him, but it wasn't  anyone's fault but his own. To her horror, she felt  tears welling up behind her eyes. Now it was James'  turn to look surprised. He had expected her to get angry, to yell, maybe even hex him. But not cry. He  never expected her to cry.   

"Evans, what's wrong?" he asked gently. She crossed  her arms protectively in front of herself and shook  her head, eyes on her feet. He stepped closer to her.

"C'mon, you can tell me." She bit her lip and looked up  at him. He seemed so concerned, so worried about her, that she couldn't help herself.

"He was my best friend. I know that nobody  understands why, but he was, and he betrayed me. He  lied to me when we were kids. He said it wouldn't make  any difference to people here that I'm Muggle-born but  it does! And he thinks it does no matter how adamantly  he's denied it to me! Today proved that."

  James put his hands on her shoulders and bent to be at  eye level with her.

  "Look at me, Lily," he said. She looked up into his  eyes. They were hazel. She'd never noticed. "It  doesn't matter that you're Muggle-born. Regardless of  what Snape says. I don't think it matters, Dumbledore  doesn't think it matters, not one single person in  this tower thinks it matters. Hell, Lily, Slughorn  doesn't think it matters and he's the head of  Slytherin house! What does matter is the fact that you  are a talented witch. You're smarter than most of the  pure-bloods here, you're brave and funny, and kind.  That, Lily Evans, is what's important. Not your blood  status."  

She knew he was right. But the tears were still coming  down.   

"That doesn't change what he said," she whispered, her  voice constricted.

  "I know," James said, sounding fierce, still holding on  to her shoulders, "and I hate him for hurting you so  badly."  

Lily looked at him. He was here, and he cared enough  to listen to her, and try to comfort her, which was  more than she could say for anyone else. Then, against  her better judgment, Lily Evans stepped forward into  the arms of James Potter. She felt his arms cradle her  small frame as she shook with silent sobs, crying into  his shirt. He didn't try to say anything, for which she  was grateful. Words were not enough to fix what had  broken. They would seem pathetic in this situation.   She wasn't sure how long they stood there before she  cried herself out. But he never moved or in any way  let on if he was tiring of standing there. When she  could finally cry no more, she pulled back he looked at  her for a moment.   

"You going to be okay?"

  "Yeah. I think I'm going to stay here for a bit. I  can't face all those people in my dorm right now."

  "Okay. You sure you're going to be all right?" She  nodded.

  "Goodnight James."

  "Goodnight Lily." He walked away, watching as she laid  down on one of the couches, staring at the fireplace,  the dying embers reflected in her green eyes.

  The next thing Lily knew, she was waking up. The clock  above the fireplace showed, 3:30 a.m. It was then she  realized she was covered in a blanket. She sat up and  noticed a note pinned to it. She picked up the note  and began to read.

  _I promise I wasn't spying on you! I left my_  _Transfiguration book downstairs and when I went to get_  _it, you were asleep. I thought you looked cold so I_  _went and got the spare blanket from my room. I kind of_  _need it back when you wake up. I wouldn't ask but_  _Remus, Sirius, and Peter might kill me if I lost it._   _So if you could just leave it in front of the fifth_  _year boy's dormitory, that would be great. I hope you_  _feel better than you did last night. _

Lily felt a rush of gratitude towards the boy she  thought she would always hate. He'd been so nice to  her. First last night, now the blanket. She folded it up and tried to think of words that would  encompass the spectrum of her thankfulness. In the end,   she wrote simply, "thank you." He would understand.   Quietly, she tiptoed up the stairs of the boy's dorm.  She stopped at the door labeled "fifth years." It was  slightly ajar. Lily bent down, placing the blanket on  the floor. She paused for a moment, and peered into  the room, eyes seeking a head of messy black hair. She  spotted him in the bed farthest from the door. She  gave a small smile towards his sleeping form. Maybe he  wasn't such an arrogant, bullying, toe rag after all.


End file.
